BPN727: On-Chip Single Molecule miRNA Detection for Cancer Diagnosis

Project ID

BPN727

Website

Start Date

Thu 2013-Aug-15 13:45:35

Last Updated

Tue 2015-Feb-03 15:37:18

Abstract

Early stage cancer diagnosis may mean the difference between a successful or an ineffective treatment. Therefore,
development of methods that allow the detection of premature signatures of cancer are necessary. Mature microRNAs are short
non-coding RNAs strands (~18-21 nt) involved in gene regulation of eukaryotic cells. In cancer cells some miRNAs appear over
or under expressed, and serve as a markers to signal the presence of these malignancies. MicroRNAs, however, are present
in very low concentrations, thus sensitive and multiplexed methods that detect specific miRNAs are needed to enable the
patient with timely and better treatment of this disease. Currently, we are developing a method that offers sensitive, fast,
and multiplexed detection of miRNAs in blood samples. This method can be easily adapted to chip technology paving the way
to recognize miRNAs without the need of either sample preparation or enzymatic/chemical modification. Due to the
multiplexed and sensitive capabilities of our device, we also expect it to provide accurate cancer type characterization.